I AM sat crouch-legged leaning against my guitarist, The Boy (as he is affectionately known in our show) in the wings of a very small run-down stage in the basement cabaret bar under the Carlton Hotel.
Camille O'Sullivan stands on stage singing the most raw and passionate version of Brel's Port of Amsterdam. Not a breath can be heard from the 100 or so crammed audience. How the hell have I managed to get Camille to agree to come down to C Venues an
d stand on my stage in my show?
Last year I attended the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time and found myself wandering aimlessly into her show to shelter from the rain. I could not have predicted what would happen to me in those next 90 minutes. I was so blown away, so captivated, so inspired by her sheer brilliance of the stunning performance that I really had no control in the actions that followed. I gave up my nursing career on the spot and did not return home that August. From that moment forth, I swore my dedication to a life of music.
I began writing songs about the world I saw around me. Murder, suicide, betrayal and one other such world - Camille the performer and her audience. The result was a song entitled Circus Girl II, that likens the singer to that of someone with cult-like leadership powers, with the ability to seduce her audience to ecstasy then to sobbing tears.
Returning to Edinburgh this year with my own show, Dada Noir, Camille witnessed Circus Girl II and, to my sheer astonishment, agreed to come down to my show and sing the song. From a collection of notes, chords and lyrics penned in my small rented bedroom, Camille took my song and became the actual voice of Circus Girl.
To stand on stage with your idol and sing a duet is unbelievable. To stand on stage and sing a duet you scribbled yourself about the very person singing it is mind-blowing. To then persuade her to sing Port of Amsterdam, the very song that made you give up everything, leaves you pressed against your guitarist in the dark of the wings speechless.
Camille once said: "This is the Fringe, anything can happen." My God, was she right.
• Dada Noir is at C Central until 25 August, today 9:35pm. Camille will give an extra performance of The Dark Angel at Assembly @ George Street on 23 August at midnight.
